Elementary Lesson Plan D

Theme: Living Our Faith

The
storybook(s) Green Street Park and/or
Drop by Drop, available from
Loyola Press, or the stories
from the WeAreSaltAndLight.org website

Gathering

The first task in each session is to establish a sense of welcome and
hospitality. The second task is to begin the session with the child's human
experience, i.e. the child's "story." A Bible should be enthroned
prominently in the room. Gather around the Word for prayer.

At the start of the session, ask the young people to think about and then share
answers to the following question:

How have you worked with others
to try to help make a difference, to make our families, our neighborhood and
the world better?

Write answers on the newsprint
or dry erase board.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray. Good and caring Father, you love all of your children. Jesus, help us see your
face in others. Holy Spirit, help us to work to end poverty and promote life,
justice and peace by speaking up for those in need in our community, our
nation, and our world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Students are seated.
Catechist takes Bible from enthronement and proclaims reading. Be sure reading
is marked in advance.

Scripture Reading & Faith Sharing

Proclaim the reading (Matthew 25:31-40):

A reading from the Gospel of
Matthew…

After the reading a brief period of silence follows. Then,
the catechist asks the children these or similar questions:

What did you hear Jesus
saying in the reading?

What were you surprised to
hear?

After the children's initial
response, proclaim the reading again.

A reading from the
Gospel of Matthew…

What is Jesus trying to
teach us in this story?

In whom is Jesus present in
our community today?

Name a time when
"Jesus" was hungry and you fed him? Or, thirsty and you gave him
drink? Or, a stranger and you welcomed him? Or, sick and you visited him?

Storytelling
and Discussion

The bishops encourage us all to
"build a world of respect for human life and dignity, where justice and peace
prevail" (Forming Consciences for
Faithful Citizenship, no. 57). They say that everyone—even young people—have
a role to play.

The catechist should explain
that we will now hear some stories of children being Jesus' disciples by
working to make a positive difference in their own communities.

Read the elementary storybooks,
Green Street Park and Drop by Drop, which offer great examples
of Catholic young people making a positive change in the local and global
communities. These books from the U.S. Catholic bishops' Department of Justice,
Peace and Human Development, are available
for order through the Loyola Press website.

An alternate option is for the
catechist to read the following examples of children working to transform their
communities, from the WeAreSaltAndLight.org. Depending on the students' grade level, the catechist may
wish to paraphrase the examples and then share them with the young people as
examples of what youth are doing in other parts of the country.

Next, as a group, identify an
issue that many of the young people care about.

Then visit the PovertyUSA or CRS Education web sites for
age-appropriate activities that you can use to help the young people learn more
about the issue they care about. Be
sure to help the young people to understand the experiences of others who face
the issue using videos or other resources that are available on the websites.

Brainstorm with the young
people about what action they might take to put their own faith in action.
Beforehand, the catechist may wish to review the U.S. Catholic bishops' Two
Feet of Love in Action model and handout
so that he or she may help to encourage ideas about both Charitable Works
activities (which meet short-term, immediate needs) and Social Justice
activities (which seek long-term, systemic change).

Here are some examples of Charitable Works
responses: Organize families to meet on a Saturday morning to work together
with the local St. Vincent de Paul chapter or local food pantry. Gather
afterward for lunch, prayer and reflection.

Volunteer at a soup kitchen and then participate
in a Hunger Walk.

Bring in canned goods. Have a prayer, blessing
and discussion before delivering to the local food pantry.

Establish a "pen pal" relationship
with a parish religious education class or a school in another country.

Collect clothing and toys for children of the
same age—perhaps at a time other than Christmas—and donate them to a local
organization serving low-income children.

Contact the local Children's Hospital to ask
what your class could do to be of service to hospitalized children. Some
hospitals accept donations of new toys or books.

Here
are some examples of Social Justice responses:

Help the young people write letters to their
local, state, or national elected officials to express their concerns about an
issue. If possible, help the young
people select an issue on which many other Catholics are also doing advocacy,
through your state
Catholic conference, USCCB,
or Catholics Confront Global
Poverty.

Organize families to participate in a
"lobby night" or pro-life march if one is being planned by your
diocese or state Catholic conference.

Invite a local legislator to the class to talk
about how he or she works to make sure the needs of those who are poor and
vulnerable are addressed.

Join the efforts of a local organization that
receives funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Find groups
in your area on this
map. (Select "All Markers" and then zoom in to your county.)

Organize a fair
trade Christmas sale to promote economic development and fair wages in
countries around the world.

Closing Prayer

Return to the adult gathering or return to the prayer circle. Recall the
table image used in the opening exercise. Bring the children together and quiet
them for prayer.

Ask them to remember that Jesus is present in
those who are hungry, thirsty, sick,
stranger, and in prison.

Let us pray.Good and caring Father, thank you for your love for all people. We pray now for those in whom Jesus is present, including those who are hungry,
thirsty, sick, strangers, and in prison.

Help us to share your love by working for justice and peace for all your
children.We ask this in the name of Jesus your Son and through the power of the Holy
Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

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